­Chris Horner (USA) of Saturn won the third annual T-Mobile International today in front of an estimated crowd of 600,000 spectators.  Mark McCormack (USA) of Saturn finished second <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

and claimed the top spot in the 2003 Pro Cycling Tour Points standings. Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) of the U.S. Postal Service team finished third.

In the women?s race, Ausra Gruodis Safi?s Nicole Cooke (UK) won.

Mark Bissell captured the BMC Software Celebrity Chase.

?In a race like this, I didn?t want to take any chances so I just kept going,? said Horner who didn?t realize he had won the race until the officials caught his attention 500 yards past the finish.  ?The crowd was incredible and so loud, I couldn?t even hear the bell.  I thought I had one more lap.?

The 108-mile course took the pros up the grueling <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>

hill 13 times and Fillmore Broadway hill eight times with only 54 of 137 riders finishing.  Five-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and last year?s winner, Charles Dionne, both dropped out after three quarters of the race. Cesar Grajales (COL) of Jittery Joe?s Coffee earned Webcor King of the Mountain.

In the women?s race, Katie Mactier (AUS) of Saturn was second with Judith Arndt (GER) of Nurnberger third.  Webcor Queen of the Mountain was a tie between Cooke and Dede Demet-Barry (US) of T-Mobile.

?There is no other race like this.  It was a world-class field and an absolute killer course,? current Women?s World Cup Champion Nicole Cooke told Roadcycling.com.

Today?s race was one of six official events on the 2003 Pro Cycling Tour (PCT). For information on the PCT visit www.procyclingtour.com.

Photos and complete results to follow.